Protect people in Northern Ontario by strengthening health care system now, says Hughes

MP Carol Hughes (Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing) and the NDP have reiterated their calls to strengthen the health care system to help keep Canadians healthy and safe. After almost two years of the pandemic, health care workers have been dealing with burnout and, due to staffing shortages, they continue to work to exhaustion. As COVID-19 cases remain high, the federal government could be doing much more to ensure health care workers are supported and the health care system is able to meet the needs of Canadians now, not once the pandemic is done.

“People living in Northern Ontario are extremely grateful for all of the hard work healthcare workers have put in to look after them these past two years. They deserve to be supported by their government. Instead, years of cuts have left them working in understaffed hospitals and clinics leading to burnout,” said Hughes. “This is no way to repay the people working on the frontlines of this pandemic. The Liberal government needs to fix the gaps in our healthcare system now.”

As Parliament resumes, New Democrats remain focused on helping Canadians get through the pandemic and ensuring that a stronger, public health care system is there for people when they need it. This includes addressing the doctor and nursing shortages, increasing the number of beds available in hospitals, and getting more stable funding to Ontario and other provinces and territories. New Democrats will continue to push for profit to be taken out of long-term care and for national standards of care to be put in place quickly. Despite ongoing consultations undertaken by the government, two years into the pandemic, our loved ones in long-term care are still living without national care standards.

“The pandemic revealed problems that have been there for years due to constant underfunding from Liberal and Conservative governments,” said NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh. “But it doesn’t have to be that way. If Justin Trudeau is serious about having people’s backs, he can begin by addressing the massive gaps he has helped create in our health care system. New Democrats will never stop fighting to make sure health care workers are supported, that patients have access to better care all across the country and that our loved ones in long-term care are treated with dignity.”